Name: Qantas lounge evacuated after power bank fire amid safety concerns
Uploaded: 2025-11-07T06:32:10.055Z
Duration: 1 min 45 s
Description: A man suffered burns and 150 people were evacuated from a Qantas business lounge at Melbourne Airport after a power bank exploded in his pocket. Qantas is now reviewing its policy on passengers carrying lithium batteries.

A man suffered burns and 150 people were evacuated from a Qantas business lounge at Melbourne Airport after a power bank exploded in his pocket. Qantas is now reviewing its policy on passengers carrying lithium batteries.

Melbourne Airport

A power bank overheated and caught fire in a passenger's pocket at the Qantas business lounge in Melbourne Airport, resulting in burns to the passenger and the evacuation of 150 people. The incident is part of a broader trend of battery-related safety issues on flights, with several airlines now reviewing or banning the use of power banks due to fire risks.

Experts warn that the quality of lithium-ion batteries varies significantly, especially among cheaper products, increasing the risk of catastrophic failures. Current advice for travelers in Australia is to keep power banks within reach during flights and to avoid storing them in checked luggage.

Qantas lounge evacuated after power bank fire amid safety concerns

Usually a place to escape the noise of an airport, the Qantas business lounge was filled with screams as a power bank overheated and caught alight in a passenger's pocket yesterday morning. He received burns to his legs and fingers. 150 people were evacuated. It would have been pretty frightening for him too, particularly the fire and the heat in his pocket would have been pretty intense. But in the event of a fire in an aircraft, particularly the first thing most people will notice will be the smoke and there'll be lots of it. Power banks causing issues on flights is becoming an increasingly common problem. Passengers were left scrambling on a Virgin plane as it approached Hobart in July, when a battery fire erupted in the overhead cabin. While an Air China flight was diverted mid-flight just two weeks ago for the same reason. Emirates along with Cathay Pacific and Korean Air have banned the use of power banks on flights this year. While in Australia, both Virgin and Qantas are reviewing their policies. I definitely think that perhaps these will be banned in the future and again that comes to simply because not all power banks are made the same. So there is, we simply can't take the risk that something may go catastrophically wrong with them. Lithium-ion batteries are also causing havoc for firefighters, with e-bike and home batteries responsible for an increasing number of house fires. Experts say the quality of lithium batteries can vary enormously and there's no way of knowing if cheap varieties often bought online have undergone any type of safety testing. The current advice for passengers travelling with a power bank in Australia is to keep it within easy reach at all times during a flight and never store one in checked luggage. Caitlin Dugan, 10 News.

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